Op de wereldranglijst van hoogste gemiddelde lonen staat Nederland vijfde. Klinkt als een felicitatie. Tot je kijkt naar wat er in vijftien jaar met dat Nederlandse loon is gebeurd: niets. Sterker nog, het is gezakt.

De top 10 van 2025

De ranglijst gaat over gemiddelde jaarlonen van voltijdwerknemers, omgerekend naar dollars en gecorrigeerd voor het prijspeil per land. Dat laatste is cruciaal: een salaris in Zürich betekent iets anders dan hetzelfde bedrag in Lissabon.

Acht van de tien zijn Europees. Nederland houdt België met een verschil van nog geen 130 dollar net achter zich – binnen zo'n ranglijst is dat een fotofinish, geen voorsprong.

Nederland verdiende in 2010 meer dan nu. Het is het enige land in de kopgroep waarvoor dat geldt.

Ons loon staat al vijftien jaar stil

In 2010 kwam het Nederlandse gemiddelde jaarloon, in hetzelfde koopkrachtgecorrigeerde geld, uit op 81.996 dollar. In 2020 op 81.772 dollar. En in 2025 op 80.136 dollar. Vijftien jaar arbeid, en de gemiddelde werknemer ging er reëel iets op achteruit.

Vergelijk dat met de kopgroep. Noorwegen ging van 60.442 naar 73.462 dollar, IJsland van 66.441 naar 100.605 dollar, Duitsland van 65.869 naar 76.285 dollar. Nederland is het enige land in de top tien dat sinds 2010 achteruit is gegaan.

De loongolf haalde alleen de inflatie bij

De hoge loonstijgingen van de afgelopen jaren voelden als een doorbraak. De cao-lonen stegen in 2025 met 5,0 procent, na 6,5 procent in 2024. Maar gecorrigeerd voor inflatie bleef er in 2025 1,6 procent over. Over de hele periode 2020–2025 stegen de cao-lonen met 25,1 procent en de consumentenprijzen met 25,0 procent. Een tiende procentpunt in vijf jaar.

Vijf jaar loononderhandelen, 25 procent loonsverhoging, en precies niets aan koopkracht overgehouden.

Waarom je overal een ander lijstje ziet

Wie googelt, vindt Nederland op plek 5, 7, 9 én 14. Dat komt niet door slechte cijfers maar door verschillende meetlatten:

• Bruto of netto – bij netto maandsalarissen tegen actuele wisselkoersen zakt Nederland naar de negende plek, met onze relatief hoge belastingdruk als verklaring.
• Wel of niet gecorrigeerd voor prijspeil – zonder correctie schuiven dure landen als Zwitserland verder omhoog.
• Welke landen meedoen – neem je ministaten als Monaco, Bermuda en Qatar mee, dan valt Nederland richting plek 14.
• Gemiddelde of mediaan – topinkomens trekken een gemiddelde omhoog; de helft van de werknemers zit eronder.

Staat Nederland in de top tien? Ja. De interessantere vraag is waarom een land met een top-5-loon een werknemer heeft die er in vijftien jaar niets bij kreeg.

Meer weten?

• CBS: cao-lonen stijgen in 2025 met 5,0 procent
• CBS: De arbeidsmarkt in cijfers 2024
• OESO: gemiddelde jaarlonen per land

AMSTERDAM (ANP) - Betalingsverwerker Adyen heeft zijn omzetverwachting voor heel 2026 verhoogd na een sterke groei van de omzet in de eerste zes maanden. Het aan de Amsterdamse beurs genoteerde bedrijf verwacht nu een omzetgroei tussen de 21 en 23 procent. Dat was eerder 20 tot 22 procent.

De omzet over het eerste halfjaar kwam uit op 1,3 miljard euro, een stijging van 19 procent ten opzichte van dezelfde periode een jaar eerder. De winst voor belastingen en rente bedroeg 641,5 miljoen euro.

Volgens topman en medeoprichter Pieter van der Does heeft Adyen een sterke eerste jaarhelft gedraaid, mede door de rol van het bedrijf uit te breiden ver buiten de betaalsector. Dat is onderdeel van de langetermijnstrategie. De betalingsverwerker nam onder meer Talon.One en Orb over, bedrijven in segmenten die grenzen aan betalingen. Deze overnames voorzien volgens het bedrijf in meerdere behoeften van webwinkeliers, waaronder het verbinden en activeren van klantinteracties.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The New York Times: Two days before tens of thousands of migrants surged into Ceuta, one of Spain's enclaves on Morocco's northern coast, a newspaper there posted a video on TikTok and Instagram showing two young women walking in the city in wet suits, their hair still damp. The posts didn't say so explicitly, but the implication was clear: The women had just swum across the border from Morocco. "Ceuta can't take it anymore," the newspaper, El Faro de Ceuta, declared in the posts. On the other side of the border, the video resonated very differently. Cropped and reposted in Arabic, the video seemed like an invitation. The women were smiling, flashing peace signs and thumbs up and, most of all, walking around freely. The video seemed to legitimize rumors that had percolated for weeks on social media suggesting that a recent ruling by Spain's Supreme Court meant migrants who arrived illegally by sea could stay in the country. As one account on Facebook put it, falsely, "Ceuta is turning into an open gate," when in fact migrants still faced expulsion after a judicial review. The responses to the posts about the swimmers were a critical part of a cascade of disinformation that experts described as one of the starkest instances in which social media contributed directly to a real-world tragedy.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Fat Burns ☮ has added a photo to the pool:

Many thanks for your visits, faves and comments. Cheers.

Yellow-billed Spoonbill
Scientific Name: Platalea flavipes
Description: The Yellow-billed Spoonbill is a large, white waterbird with a yellow face and spatulate (spoon-shaped) bill, and yellow legs and feet. During breeding season, the facial skin is outlined in black, the lacy outer wing plumes are tipped black and there are long hackles on its upper breast. Out of breeding, the face is yellow with no black outline and the lacy plumes and hackles are reduced or absent. Young birds are similar to adults, but have black markings on the inner flight feathers (tertials). It is most often seen wading slowly in shallow waters, sweeping its bill from side to side to feed.
Similar species: Their large spoon-shaped bills easily distinguish spoonbills from all other water birds. The yellow bill and legs distinguish the Yellow-billed Spoonbill from the slightly smaller Royal Spoonbill, P. regia, which has a black bill and legs, and a distinctive crest (more apparent during breeding season).
Distribution: The Yellow-billed Spoonbill is found across Australia in suitable habitat, particularly in the north and well-watered inland areas, but is less common in coastal regions. It is a vagrant to Lord Howe Island and New Zealand.
Habitat: The Yellow-billed Spoonbill is found in the shallows of freshwater wetlands, dams, lagoons and swamps, and sometimes in dry pastures, but rarely uses saltwater wetlands. It can use much smaller areas of water than the Royal Spoonbill.
Seasonal movements: Nomadic.
Feeding: The Yellow-billed Spoonbill feeds on aquatic insects and their larvae, using its bill to sweep shallow waters for prey. The spatulate bill has many vibration detectors, called papillae, on the inside of the spoon, which means the bird can feel for prey items even in murky water and can feed by day or night. Once food is caught, it lifts its bill up and lets the items slide down its throat. The Yellow-billed Spoonbill has less sensory papillae and a smaller spoon than the Royal Spoonbill, which means that it catches slower moving prey.
Breeding: The Yellow-billed Spoonbill often nests in colonies with other water birds, such as ibises and Royal Spoonbills. It places its nest in high forks of trees over water, or in among reed beds, building a shallow, unlined platform of sticks, rushes and reeds. The male collects the nest materials while the female builds and both sexes share incubation and care of the young.
Calls: Almost mute; some feeble grunting and also bill-clapping.
Minimum Size: 76cm
Maximum Size: 91cm
Average size: 84cm
Breeding season: July to November in the south; March to May in the north.
Clutch Size: Two to four.
(Source: www.birdsinbackyards.net/species/Platalea-flavipes)

Straw-necked Ibis
Scientific Name: Threskiornis spinicollis
Description: The Straw-necked Ibis is a large waterbird with a naked black head, long downcurved black bill and yellow throat plumes. It has a glossy blue-black back, with metallic purple, green and bronze sheen, a white nape and sides of neck and white underparts. Its preference for grassland insects such as grasshoppers and locusts have earnt it the name of Farmer's Friend.
Similar species: The strawlike neck feathers distinguish the Straw-necked Ibis from other ibises. When flying, it has a white body and black wings, while the Australian White Ibishas a black head with white body and wings.
Distribution: The Straw-necked Ibis is found across mainland Australia. It is vagrant to Tasmania and is also found in Indonesia, New Guinea, Norfolk Island and Lord Howe Island.
Habitat: The Straw-necked Ibis prefers wet and dry grasslands, pastures, croplands and swamp or lagoon margins. It is rarely found on coastal shores, mudflats or mangroves and is generally less adaptable than the Australian White Ibis.
Seasonal movements: Highly nomadic, moving in search of suitable habitat.
Feeding: The Straw-necked Ibis feeds mainly on terrestrial invertebrates, especially grasshoppers and locusts. It will also take frogs, small reptiles and mammals. It forages by probing or takes prey from the surface of water bodies. It is rarely an opportunistic scavenger, unlike the Australian White Ibis. The Straw-necked Ibis has been called the Farmer's Friend, because it eats crop pests such as grasshoppers and locusts.
Breeding: The Straw-necked Ibis forms large breeding colonies, often with Australian White Ibises. The low nests are large trampled platforms of reeds, rushes and sticks over water, often blending together to form one continuous platform, and are re-used over many years. Both sexes build nests, incubate eggs and feed the young.
Calls: Silent away from nest; grunts or croaks at nest and hoarse rolling calls in flight: 'u-u-uh'.
Minimum Size: 59cm
Maximum Size: 76cm
Average size: 68cm
Breeding season: August to January in south; February to May in north
Clutch Size: Two to five, usually two to three.
Incubation: 25 days
Nestling Period: 35 days
(Source: www.birdsinbackyards.net)
__________________________________________

© Chris Burns 2026

All rights reserved.

This image may not be copied, reproduced, distributed, republished, downloaded, displayed, posted or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic, mechanical, photocopying and recording without my written consent.

Dion Chan SIM has added a photo to the pool:

Exploring the Hinode Park in Kamifurano with its spectacular views of the vast lavender fields. It is a waste that the weather is not too good and we cannot see the surrounding Tokachi mountains. But the next few days will be clear.

Dion Chan SIM has added a photo to the pool:

Exploring the Hinode Park in Kamifurano with its spectacular views of the vast lavender fields. It is a waste that the weather is not too good and we cannot see the surrounding Tokachi mountains. But the next few days will be clear.

ajpscs has added a photo to the pool:

東京で雨
LOST NIGHT
STEAL THE NIGHT
© ajpscs

BONGURI has added a photo to the pool:

やっと越美北線。最初は越前大宮駅。静かな駅でした。
Photo taken Echizen Omiya station, Fukui city, Fukui pref.

Vandaag vieren de linksen dat ze er mogen zijn, ondanks de moeilijkheden die zij vrijwel dagelijks tegenkomen.

Nee, we hebben het niet over de laatsten der revolutionaire roden. Het is vandaag de Internationale Linkshandigendag. In 1976 werd de eerste Linkshandigen Dag gehouden in Amerika. Een initiatief van Dean R. Campbell, die een jaar eerder in de V.S. de eerste belangenvereniging van linkshandigen oprichtte.

Evolutionair gesproken is het een beetje vreemd dat er nog linksen zijn. Ondanks dat de wereld van oudsher ingericht is op rechtse dominantie, blijft het aantal linkshandigen stabiel. Een op de tien mensen gebruikt bij voorkeur hun linkerhand voor dagelijkse dingen als een boodschappenlijstje schrijven, een kop koffie vastpakken of het kammen van hun haren. Dat komt overeen met ruim 1,2 miljoen mensen van 18 jaar en ouder (bron CBS 2011, data Linkshandigheid, 2007/2009).

Internationaal gezien telt Nederland iets meer linkshandigen dan andere de V.S., Canada, de UK en Frankrijk (bron Statista 2020, data 2009).

Een kleine groep, dus een klein probleem. In ieder geval groot genoeg om er een winkel voor te beginnen waar je bijvoorbeeld computermuizen, scharen  en kurkentrekkers kunt verkrijgen, ontworpen voor linkshandigen. Voor studenten zijn er collegeblokken met een spiraal aan de andere kant, die ze overigens slecht kwijt kunnen omdat in de collegezalen het klaptafeltje bijna altijd rechts zit.

Er is al veel over geschreven, dus het mag bekend verondersteld zijn, waar linkshandigen tegenaan lopen. Problemen met schrijven (leesbaar handschrift) zullen wel minder worden omdat we amper nog een pen gebruiken, maar er zijn genoeg andere zaken waar linkshandigen mee kunnen stoeien.

In het openbaar vervoer: De OV-chipkaart- en bankreceptoren op poortjes en losse palen bevinden zich standaard aan de rechterkant. De touchscreens en betaalautomaten op stations of in trams/bussen hebben pinautomaten en kaartgleuven die vaak zo zijn geplaatst dat je met rechts moet handelen.

Fietsen: De voorrem zit in Nederland bijna altijd rechts. Dit is lastig voor wie sneller reageert met links. Versnellingen en draaigrepen zitten vaak aan de rechterkant.

Autorijden: versnellingspook en handrem zitten rechts (tenzij je in een automaat rijdt), de pedalen bedien je met rechts. Knoppen, het contactslot of hendels voor verlichting zitten vaak rechts of zijn op rechtshandig gebruik afgestemd.

Linkshandigen leren zich wel aanpassen aan de rechtse wereld. Rechtshandigen voelen die noodzaak niet. Het heeft ook niet zo’n zin om op de dag van de linkshandigen aan rechtshandigen te vragen vandaag alles eens met de linkerhand te doen. Dat leer je niet in één dag. Je houdt er misschien wel fysiek ongemak aan over. Wellicht kun je je dan voorstellen dat een gemiddelde dag dagelijkse bezigheden voor linkshandigen toch wat vermoeiender is.

Full disclosure:
Ik kom uit een tijd waar op de lagere school de schrijflessen met kroontjespen en potjes inkt in mijn geval tot een continue knoeiboel leidde en waar ik tot op vandaag de dag een rommelig handschrift aan over heb gehouden. Een aantal andere dingen heb ik wel met rechts aan kunnen leren, bijv. de computermuis en gitaarspelen (ik was te lui om bij een akoestische gitaar de snaren andersom te zetten), maar in de keuken is het nog steeds gelazer met snijwerk.

A woman wakes up in a trailer as it speeds along in this effective and icky thriller, though you do end up wondering when you (and she) will ever get out

This survival thriller-horror starts in “what would you do?” mode, as a young woman wakes up in the back of a moving camper van with some sort of hideous wound on her arm. Well, what would you do? Lena (Dakota Gorman) approaches things fairly logically, first checking out her surroundings: under other circumstances the trailer would be quite charming, if slightly kitschy – floral curtains, varnished wooden panels, a “World’s Greatest Dad” mug and family photographs. Closer inspection reveals less homely details: conspiracy magazines and lurid novels, which in the presumed abduction scenario in which Lena finds herself, are hardly reassuring.

When a disembodied voice begins to communicate with her, telling her that she has an hour to get to hospital before the veiny trails progressing from the wound on her arm reach her heart, she asks reasonable questions, which are met with cryptic replies and evasive half answers. The voice is emanating from the head of a taxidermised coyote type of beastie mounted on the wall, and it’s pretty clear this is the voice of the driver and apparent kidnapper. Naturally, the full situation is a little more layered than it initially seems.

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Söderåsen national park is one of Europe’s largest protected broadleaf woods, offering wild swimming, spectacular hiking trails and an inspiring story of regeneration

From the bus window, the ridge looks like a giant slumbering beast stretched deep green across the flat farmland. “It feels alive,” I say to the woman beside me. “Yes,” she answers. “It is where you would run for safety, don’t you think?”

I am in southern Sweden to explore Söderåsen national park, established in 2001 to protect more than 1,600 hectares (4,000 acres) of the larger Söderåsen ridgeline. Shaped over millennia by immense geological collisions, fractures, volcanic eruptions and ice ages, today it is one of northern Europe’s largest continuous protected broadleaf forests, and only 90 minutes by car from Copenhagen or, in my case, two hours by public transport.

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From dazzling shifts in perspective to astounding tricks using shade, reflections and rain, these winning images from the Pure Street Photography awards all capture ‘marvellous moments of fleeting serendipity’

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Longest ballot in UK voting history features likes of Count Binface and Howling Laud Hope alongside Reform leader

Polls have opened in Clacton, with thousands of residents in the Essex seat to vote in a ballot featuring Nigel Farage and a range of novelty and fringe candidates led by Count Binface.

The Reform UK leader resigned as the MP for Clacton at the start of July and forced a byelection in an attempt to address complaints over a deepening scandal about gifts he received.

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I’ll happily chat to plants and pets, but when I really need to get something off my chest I’m my own best listener. And that’s absolutely fine, according to my new favourite expert

In an arguably unnecessary attempt at myth-busting, a psychologist has revealed that talking to yourself can be a healthy sign that says positive things about your mental state. Violeta Acedo told Hello! magazine that it “improves focus, emotional health and decision-making” and, while it can be considered eccentric, is not in itself a symptom of mental illness. This struck me as odd, to say the least, like justifying breathing. Not only did I assume that everyone talks to themselves, but I also wouldn’t trust anybody who doesn’t because … what’s going on there, then? Even before I knew science was on my side, I would have died on this hill (while talking myself through potential options for memorable last words).

To be clear, this is not chatting to your plants or pets, because those are living things, so fall under the umbrella of ordinary conversation. Plants can thrive with verbal motivation and it’s only polite to acknowledge any animal you encounter, of course. No, this is you speaking to you, out loud and proud.

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Health secretary praises more collegiate style under Andy Burnham and says previous No 10 sidelined her from key policy launch

Yvette Cooper admits Labour has “not done government very well” in the last couple of years, and accused Keir Starmer’s No 10 of sidelining her during the launch of a key immigration policy when she was home secretary.

Speaking on the Political Currency podcast with the former Conservative chancellor George Osborne, Cooper highlighted some of the difficulties ministers faced with Starmer’s leadership, which she summarised as “bring me solutions, not problems”.

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The Scottish author focuses on gun culture and generational conflict in this darkly satirical tale about a great power in decline

“Why expect unconditional love from somebody you’ve brought into a fucked, dying planet, who then has to sit around and watch you screw it up even more?” So muses twentysomething college dropout Luke Ayrton on his parental lineage as he works the Las Vegas Strip, “comping girls for clubs” in Sin City. His job is to trawl the “plankton” of bacherlorette parties in order to lure the “whales” – rich men willing to spend to try to impress young women.

“In this game your sociology skills sharpened,” it’s observed, but beyond the seedy side hustle lie weightier concerns: the matter of his family legacy. Electronic dance music aficionado and aspiring writer Luke is estranged from his Maga-positive Mom and Dad, and now lives with grandparents George and Molly, affluent boomers with a countercultural past.

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With great software and battery for two days, the pricey svelte folder strikes best balance between phone and tablet

Samsung’s top folding phone for 2026 is its first to carry the “Ultra” moniker in its name, packing a much bigger battery and better cameras into the thin and light body of a book-style foldable.

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra continues from where the exquisite Z Fold 7 left off last year. With its svelte chocolate bar dimensions opening into a square tablet, the Ultra sits above the new passport-shaped Z Fold 8 as Samsung’s top model. Costing £1,899 (€2,199/$2,099.99/A$2,999), it is a lot of money to pay for a phone, regardless of how many other devices it can theoretically replace in your pocket.

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A series of illustrations inspired by the Japanese world of fabrics and patterns

ajpscs posted a photo:

東京で雨
LOST NIGHT
STEAL THE NIGHT
© ajpscs